Reborn
by Maylen
Summary: Harry Potter, tired of life and betrayal, has his final showdown with Voldemort. Tired of living as a martyr, he allows Voldemort to kill him without a fight. He decides that he doesn't want to go back to finish the job, as he wants to finally be at peace with his loved ones that died. However, things don't go as planned, as he made a final wish, and Fate sought to grant it.
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at writing a Harry Potter fanfic, and I haven't written fanfiction in many years. The characters may be OOC, and I'm sorry if that happens. This is mainly as a writing exercise to get over my severe writer's block. I'm not entirely sure where I will be going with this fic, and I'm not even sure if I will manage to finish this, which I hate, because I dislike it when a fic gets abandoned. Just a warning in advanced. If anyone is interested in this, please let me know. Feedback and constructive criticism would be great. I hope you enjoy the prologue!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, my favorite characters would still be alive...:(**

Harry just stood there, half dead on his feet, bleeding from various wounds. He knew this moment would come. He had prayed for it, hoped for it, and wished for it. He held his wand loosely in his right hand, his muggle clothing was torn thanks to the curses that he got hit with. Blood was running into his eye, blinding him slightly. However, he made no move to wipe it away. What was the point? Why would it matter if some blood got into his eye? He was going to die any minute anyway.

"So, the famous Harry Potter decided to show himself," the raspy voice of Voldemort said.

Harry stood still, his stance relaxed. His wand arm wasn't raised, not yet.

"What happened to your friends? Did they get themselves killed?" asked Voldemort. His tone was slightly mocking.

Harry didn't bother to answer, although his stiffening body gave him away.

"Ah, so they did get themselves killed. Tell me, who finished them off?"

Harry didn't bother to answer. Instead, the grip on his wand tightened.

"No matter, just one more blood traitor and mudblood dead. They wouldn't be missed."

Harry slowly raised his wand arm, pointing it steadily at Voldemort. This was it, the moment he has been waiting for. The moment he was trained for. The moment that would bring about his freedom.

"I will enjoy killing you, Harry Potter. I shall present your corpse for all to see how their saviour had failed!" shouted Voldemort, as he swiftly raised his wand to aim at Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry saw the bright emerald light come towards him. He didn't bother to try to dodge, or shield himself. He just stood there, waiting for the spell to hit him. He looked at Voldemort's red eyes, alight with triumph, one last time before the sharp pain of death hit him, and he fell to the floor.

* * *

The first thing Harry noticed when his consciousness surfaced was that he was no longer in pain, and his eye was no longer burning. He managed to open his eyes, and realized that he was sitting in a comfy chair. It was mostly white all around him, but the trains he recognized as they were stationed at Kings Cross Station, and then he noticed that he was seated in front of a nice cherry wood desk. He looked up, and saw the last person he wanted to see.

"Hello Harry," Professor Dumbledore said, that damn twinkle in his eye.

Harry didn't bother to answer him, as he had nothing to say, not to this man. Instead, he focused on the pathetic black blob that was located under the desk, despair radiating from it.

"You did well, Harry. You finally destroyed all of the horcruxes. All you need to do now is wish to go back, and finish him off for good," Dumbledore said, still thinking he can manipulate Harry into what he wanted him to do. However, Harry's trust of Dumbledore was broken long ago, when he had learned the truth.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry said hoarsely. His voice was still healing, after all. "I will not go back. I'm finished."

"But, my boy-" Dumbledore tried to say, but Harry cut him off.

"I am finished!" Harry yelled, his voice cracking. It was hard to speak, but there was no pain. Harry still had his injuries, but as he was stuck in limbo, he felt no pain.

Harry swiftly stood up, and grabbed the pathetic blob that was under the desk, clutching it to him.

"Harry, put that thing back!" shouted Dumbledore, his twinkle was starting to dim a bit in his anger.

"We all deserve second chances, Headmaster. Keeping this thing here is cruel, and I'm tired of your cruelty!" Harry said, as he walked towards the train.

Dumbledore tried to grab him, but Harry swiftly turned away from his hand. His green eyes shone brightly, a promise of retribution if he didn't get to where he wanted to go.

"Don't try to stop me, you will not like the consequences," stated Harry, his eyes glowing even more bright.

Dumbledore stepped back in fear. Even in this limbo, Harry was still formidable. His magic was still protecting him, and will continue to do so, until his ultimate death.

Harry spun back around and started walking to the train again. Harry didn't look back as he went, for he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't try to stop him. He was tired, and all he wanted was to be reunited with his family. He looked at the black blob in his arms, and as he walked onto the train, he wished that this fragmented soul would gain a second chance at happiness, as it had only know despair. Little had he known, that their fates were intertwined.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow, thank you everyone that has left a review, followed, and put this story on their favorites list. I really didn't expect it. So, I managed to write another chapter pretty quickly as I was feeling inspired. I could have gone many ways with this, but I chose to do it this way. If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask. However, I may not answer because it may give away with what I have in mind.**

**Warnings: This will be an AU story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Chapter 1

The first thing Harry noticed when he woke up was that he was no longer in pain. He took that as a good sign, for it could only mean one thing. He had finally died. He felt light, weightless, as if a huge burden was suddenly lifted from his shoulders. His body felt heavy, though, and he was unable to even twitch a finger. His eyes felt as if they were glued together, as he was unable to open them. That was okay with him, though. He wouldn't mind if he stayed here forever.

"We finally meet, Harry Potter," a melodious voice said.

It was hard to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, as the sound surrounded his entire being. If he had to make a guess, it seemed as if the voice was speaking to him directly into his mind.

"You are correct, young one. I am surprised, however, as not many are this calm when I bring them here," the voice said.

Harry was confused. Was he not supposed to be here? Wasn't this the afterlife? Where were his parents? Remus? Sirius? Even Snape, the man that he was able to come to terms with, before he too, was killed.

"I must thank you, young one. For everything that you have done. It was very entertaining to watch. However, it is not yet your time to join the others in death. For you are wanted in another life," the voice was still melodious, but to Harry, it was his new-found despair.

He did not want to go back to the living. Hadn't he done enough for the world? He was so tired of everything, he just wanted to finally be at peace. Was that too much to ask? Obviously it was, since even in death, he wasn't able to receive the one thing that he wished for the most.

"Not exactly. You made another wish before you came here. One that I deemed fit to grant you, as you deserved a second chance at a happy life. This life, you will be happy. However, in every life comes obstacles, and inner strength will be needed to over come them. You will not be alone this time, Harry. You will be loved," the voice said gently.

He didn't want to have a second chance! Why was it so hard to understand that? He just wanted to be reunited with those that had died for him, loved him, and sacrificed themselves for him. His inner turmoil and frustration caused moisture to gather at his sealed eyes, and tears slowly slid down his face.

"Don't cry, young one. Please trust me when I say that in your new life you will play a major role, but that will not be the only reason why I am sending you back. There, you will also be protected and loved. You have done so much already, this is my gift to you."

Harry internally sighed, as he was unable to move his mouth. It wasn't as if he had a choice in this matter. He lost that right on that Halloween night when his parents were killed. His choices were made for him, and he was to follow them without question. After this, he vowed he would no longer follow people as blindly as he had in the past. It only led to hurt, and betrayal.

"Goodbye, Harry. I will be watching over you, and don't forget one thing: nothing in this new world is as it seems," the voice said one last time, and then faded. After that, darkness overcame Harry, and he knew no more.

* * *

Sunlight was blinding him, as its rays slipped past the tears in the curtains. Harry cautiously opened his eyes, blinking away the tears that the blinding sunlight caused. He realized that he was able to move this time, so he slowly sat up in the bed. Looking around, Harry realized that he was in a shabby building, with the wallpaper peeling off, and the entire room was white. He didn't recognize this room, as he had never seen it before. It looked rundown, and bleary, as if this room had never seen the light of day.

Harry's shoulders slumped, and it was hard for him to not start crying, as he realized that the voice wasn't just a dream, and that he really wasn't dead. He was alive, and this was a new life, a life that wasn't wanted, nor appreciated at this point in time.

Harry realized that he was wearing over sized clothes, much like Dudley's old hand-me-downs. Harry slowly moved his legs to the side of the bed, and tried to stand. Why did the bed seem so high? Was it elevated?

He got the answer to his question when he noticed a mirror on the wall, near a wardrobe. What he saw surprised him, as he let out a gasp, and just stared at his reflection, disbelieving what he was seeing. Oh, he still had the same black hair, and emerald green eyes. Now, however, he looked child-like, and he was short, which irked him, because the life at the Dursley's never allowed him to get the right amount of nutrition he needed while growing up, so he only managed to get to five ft. five. His hair was shoulder length, less wild than what it was in his previous life, but he was filthy. When was the last time he took a bath? At least, glasses wouldn't be a problem for him in this life, as he was able to see very clearly without them.

There was only one thing left to check. He removed the hair that covered his forehead, and to his dismay, the lightning bolt scar was still there. How could that be? Why was his scar, when all of his other scars had disappeared, still here? There had to be some reason as to at having more questions than answers, Harry turned around so he wouldn't have to look at his reflection any longer.

It was then that the door to his shabby room made a click, and was swung open violently, crashing into the wall, and another kid, that looked older than him, appeared.

"Hadrian! Why aren't you dressed yet? You need to hurry before the Matron gets mad at you. Do you want her to get mad at you?" the kid asked rhetorically.

Hadrian stared unblinkingly at the kid for a moment. Matron? It couldn't be! He was in a bloody orphanage!

Feeling numb, Hadrian got dressed, and while he was finished, followed the kid that was beckoning him to follow. His mind was in chaos, and many questions were forming into his head, and he had no answers for them.

The kid led him to an office, that seemed like the nicest room in this run down building to him. Figures, it could only belong to the Matron of this place.

The kid knocked on the door, and then after a moment of waiting, a stern shout of "Enter!" was heard. Harry internally cringed. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to go well.

Harry entered the nice, colorful room that was covered in deep red and some gold. Harry grimaced slightly, as the room reminded him of the Gryffindor common room, back at Hogwarts. The colors would make him feel queasy after a while, and it wasn't any different now.

"You're late, Hadrian. You should already have been up and making breakfast. What were you doing?" the Matron asked, her face seemed as if it was frozen in a stern frown, her grey hair was tightly in a bun.

"Go, before I give you more chores to do, and no Supper. Quickly!" the Matron shouted.

Harry, used to his Aunt and Uncle's moods in his previous life, quickly hurried out of the room and towards what he hoped was the kitchen. It seemed he unconsciously knew where to go in this dingy place. He was thankful for small mercies.

Harry started cooking right away, as he saw that several children were already waiting for their food on cheap wooden benches in the dining area. He made something simple, and it didn't take much time to prepare. Porridge was something that was healthy for you, and you can make it for more than just one person at a time. When he was finished, he scooped it up and poured it into several bowls that was aligned on a counter so the children could come over and take one bowl for themselves. Hadrian had made enough for everyone, as there seemed to only be ten children in the kitchen.

After everyone was served, Harry served himself last, as old habits died hard. He went to go sit on a bench, however, someone that he hadn't seen coming, had intercepted him, and knocked his porridge out of his hand.

"Freaks like you aren't allowed to eat with the rest of us," the boy, who had knocked the porridge out of his hands, said haughtily.

Closing his hands into tight fists, Harry took deep breaths to calm himself down. It wouldn't do any good to get into a fight. He already deduced that he was the least favored child here, and would be treated unfairly.

It was at that moment that the Matron came into the kitchen, and saw the mess. "Hadrian, clean that up this instant. Honestly, child, cant you do anything right?" she demanded.

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Before he went to get a towel to pick up the mess, he say the boy that had knocked the food from his hands smirk in triumph.

After he cleaned up the mess that he hadn't caused, the Matron found him and gave him a list of chores to do. She told him that if he didn't finish the list, he would go to bed without dinner, and then she promptly left. Harry looked at the long list, and closed his eyes in defeat. It seemed like bits of his past life followed him here, and to his dismay, he couldn't hold back the tears any longer, and he silently cried, like he trained himself to do in his past life. He let out a harsh laugh that turned into a sob. He was promised a better life, but he realized that he was played for a fool, as a part of him had believed those promised words. The small hope that he had managed to gain was bitterly crushed to dust.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing and adding this story to their favs/follows. I honestly didn't think I'd get so many so soon. Here is the next chapter. I know it's a bit short, but I had to get this out of the way and it seemed like a good place to stop. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. Someone asked me what the pairing is for this story, and I honestly don't think this one will have a pairing. No slash either. Maybe in a future story, but not this one. I hope you enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

Chapter 2

A few days have passed since Harry woke up in the orphanage. He thought of running away, but knew that if he did, things could be so much worse than they are now. If he went off into the muggle world, living on the streets, there would be no way that he could control his accidental magic. Thus, in doing so, muggles might see, and could lead to many questions that Harry would not know the answers to. He wasn't sure if things here were different in comparison to his original world, but he didn't want to take that chance.

Sadly, Harry was unable to learn about the magical world while he was at the orphanage. There was no way for him to get to Diagon Alley for the moment, since the Matron decided to watch him like a hawk ever since he knocked the kid that made him spill his porridge in the kitchen unconscious, with accidental magic in his defense. There had been no witnesses, but the Matron just assumed, correctly this time, that Harry was the culprit to the incident. Harry would readily admit that he had found some sick glee in getting a little payback.

Harry made his way towards his room to get to bed for the night. He was grateful that his room wasn't a cupboard under the stairs. At least Fate gave him that much to be grateful for.

Harry closed the door silently behind him and wandlessly cast a locking charm on the doorknob so no one would be able to sneak up on him while he was sleeping. A few of his abilities came with him to this new world, and wandless magic was one of them. However, since he hadn't gone through his magical inheritance, which was sixteen for him, he was unable to have much control over his magic in general. It really irked him. He worked so hard to master wandless magic, only to be de-aged and not have any control over it.

Harry stumbled and lost his balance. He hit the floor, but managed to keep himself from face-planting into the carpet with his hands. He barely ate today, as he wasn't able to finish his long list of chores. He was also starting to feel dizzy because of his lack of nourishment. He had gotten used to this in his previous life, but Hogwarts was able to help with that in some degree. Now, Hogwarts was out of his reach, and he was unused to feeling this ill.

Harry slowly got up, and had to use the bed to keep him from falling over again. Changing into his pajamas seemed to have sapped the last of his energy, and he fell straight to sleep as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

_Harry was dreaming._

_ It wasn't a normal dream, but images._

_ A lightning bolt flashed._

_ A snake hissed at him._

_ A large, unrecognizable manor flashed into his view then disappeared._

_ A man appeared, then. A man with brown hair and blue eyes. He didn't disappear, he stared at Harry, and Harry couldn't take his gaze away. He felt connected to this man, and he didn't want to look away. He wanted to keep looking at this man, as if he was afraid that he would forget him at any moment._

_ The man narrowed his eyes at him, scrutinizing him, and Harry was starting to feel a bit unnerved. The gaze reminded him of something. It reminded him of pain, but that didn't make sense. This man wasn't hurting him. At least not yet._

_ His eyes confused him slightly, though he had no idea why. He felt as if he were forgetting something. Something important, but the more he tried to recall it, the more it buried itself deep into his mind. _

_ "Who are you?" the man demanded._

_ The tone also seemed familiar to him, and he still couldn't remember. Harry was starting to get frustrated, but tried to answer the demand anyway._

_ "Harry," he said._

_ "What?" the man asked._

_ Harry looked at him for a moment and blinked. He wondered why his answer was confusing the man. _

_ "My name. It's Harry," he said again._

_ The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, I understand that part. I meant your last name."_

_ Harry opened his mouth, but no words were able to form. He wasn't able to speak, and he realized why he couldn't say anything. He wasn't sure what his last name was. Looking at the man, he tried to bring the mans focus on a different topic of conversation._

_ "What's your name?" Harry asked instead._

_ The man smirked at him, as if knowing what Harry was trying to do and decided to indulge him._

_ "My name is-" the man tried to say, but before he was able to, the man disappeared._

* * *

Harry woke with a gasp. He was drenched in sweat, and felt as if he just ran a marathon. His rest hadn't helped with his fatigue, instead it seemed to have sucked more energy out of him.

_Just who was that man?_ Harry wondered to himself.

Not knowing the answers and feeling exhausted, Harry unwillingly slipped back into a dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you all for the lovely reviews. Now, a few things to explain. During Harry's dream with Tom, Harry doesn't recognize him as he only saw Tom with his actual body when he was twelve, and Tom was sixteen. The Tom in his dream was much older, and Harry was pretty out of it, so he hasn't realized that Tom was in his dream. He isn't losing his memories from his past life. The new world he is in is different from his previous one. He doesn't know his last name, since the Matron called him Hadrian, which wasn't his name in his previous life. So, Harry only knows his first name in this new world. Hope that explains some of it.**

**Warnings: OOC, AU, angst.**

_"Dreaming"_

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter, and never will.**

* * *

Chapter 3

The sun through the window curtain brought Harry from sleep. As he woke up blind, he vowed to get curtains that didn't have holes for his window, and set the old ones on fire. Feeling a little better from planning the death of his curtains, Harry tried to get up out of bed. However, Harry's body felt sluggish, and his arms weren't able to support him. His breathing was uneven, coming out in short gasps.

_Great, _he thought, _this is the worst place to be sick. I hope the locking charm will keep working._

Slowly, Harry fell asleep, but it was far from peaceful.

* * *

_"Headmaster, you called for us?" asked a female voice._

_ "Ah, Hermione, Ron, come in, come in. Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing for them to take a seat._

_ Both of them declined politely and sat. Hermione was anxious, and she was hoping that the Headmaster would accept their proposal. _

_ "Headmaster, have you thought about our proposal?" asked Hermione._

_ At the mention of the proposal, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly. "Ah, yes. It is a very interesting proposal. I shall get started on it right away."_

_ Both Ron and Hermione let out a relieved sigh and smiled at each other. After Harry defeats Voldemort, then everything, including himself, will be theirs. Dumbledore agreed to using a compulsion potion on Harry, along with a love potion in order for Ginny to marry Harry. They knew that Sirius named Harry his heir as Harry told them himself, so they sought a way to get Sirius out of the way in order to get that money as well. So they came up with a plan, and baited Sirius to come to the Department of Mysteries by manipulating Snape. It worked out so well, and Bellatrix finished off the job._

_ Now, they just need Harry to marry Ginny, and add them to his will. Then, they would get rid of him, and all of his power and fortune would belong to them. _

It has been so easy to manipulate Harry, _thought Hermione. _Using his weakness for love against him.

_"Headmaster, have you thought of a way to get rid of Harry after Voldemort?" Ron asked._

_ The Headmaster ran his fingers through his beard, in thought. Dumbledore then grabbed a box from one of his desk drawers, and placed it on top of the desk for both Hermione and Ron to see._

_ "This," said Dumbledore, as he opened the box, "is what will be used on Harry."_

_ Dumbledore then brought out two silver cuffs with runes etched onto them. The cuffs had their own beauty, however, you could also sense strong Dark Magic surrounding them. Both Hermione and Ron froze up in fear. They didn't want to be anywhere near those cuffs, as the sinister magic surrounding them was making the air thin, and it became hard to breathe._

_ Dumbledore placed the cuffs back into the box, and placed it back into the drawer and locked it._

_ "What were those?" asked Hermione, eyes wide._

_ "Those were magical binding cuffs. If the wearer has them on their wrists long enough, it will drain their magic and will turn the bearer into a Squib. These will be placed on Harry until his magic gets drained, and then he will be tossed into the muggle world. Without the use of his magic, fortune, or any help, it will only be a matter of time before he dies on the streets," explained Dumbledore, his twinkle shining madly._

_ Hermione and Ron agreed to the idea, and couldn't wait for the time to come to gain everything that belonged to Harry. However, unbeknownst to them, Harry was there, listening to every word that was said, with his father's gift that he received during his first year at Hogwarts, the Invisibility Cloak._

* * *

The office was warm, as a fire was burning brightly. The room was well furnished, and many paintings were hung on the wall. Whomever owned this office had quite a bit of money to spend. However, the room was simple, with only a few armchairs that surrounded the fire, along with a single couch. The desk itself was a dark mahogany, and the chairs in front of the desk weren't just a simple wooden chair with a cushion. They were chairs that were made with care, and were also built for comfort. The chair behind the desk was leather, and had a man sitting in it, pondering something that he just couldn't keep his mind off of.

Tom was supposed to be doing paperwork. However, a distraction of the dream he had with the back-haired, green-eyed child kept his focus from it. He was supposed to be looking at the orphanages that were in dire need of money, so he could help sponsor them. Tom was a great many things, and being rich and powerful was only a part of the larger picture. He had helped many muggle orphanages in the past, as he had hoped that he would be helping a magical child that was among them. Tom knew that the chances were slim, but he never wanted a magical child to go through the same things he went through as a child in an orphanage, so he did everything he could.

Tom felt a strange presence in the back of his mind, and he tried to reach out to the familiar presence. However, something kept preventing him from doing so, and Tom was starting to get frustrated. The connection made itself known only a week ago, and Tom has yet to find out what that connection is.

There was a knock on his office door, and then a middle-aged woman walked in, wearing a dull grey dress. So, this was the Matron from St. Gabriel's Orphanage. He wanted to meet with her in order to determine if she met the requirements for a donation.

"My Lord Riddle, thank you for meeting with me," said the Matron, with a large smile on her face, showing her decaying teeth.

Tom prevented himself from cringing at the sight, and gestured for her to sit down in one of the chairs.

"Thank you, Matron, for arriving so quickly. This shouldn't take too long," Tom hoped.

"No problem at all, My Lord. Here are the papers that you asked for, along with a statement of our finances," the Matron said, as she slid the papers over to Tom.

Tom looked over them, taking his time to make sure everything was in order. Tom saw that there were only ten children living at this orphanage, and that the money that they had for the children was extremely low. That was odd, and Tom narrowed his eyes at it. Something seemed off about this orphanage. How could they have so little money, as they should be doing some fundraising for themselves. Unless the Matron was spending the money secretly.

Deciding to follow a hunch, Tom accepted the papers and said, "Well, everything seems to be in order. I'll have someone drop by the orphanage with the money tomorrow. Thank you, Matron, and I hope this money will help your children out in the future."

The Matron smiled another awful smile, curtsied, and left. After waiting a few minutes to make sure the Matron was truly out of his office, Tom summoned his snake Patronus, and sent it with a message to come to his office straight away. A few minutes later, a regal looking blonde man with a cane entered Tom's office and bowed with respect.

"Was there something you needed, My Lord?" the blonde man asked.

"Yes, Lucius. There is something that I would like for you to do..."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you for all of your lovely reviews. This chapter was hard to write in the beginning, but then it just flowed near the end. I hope you all like this new chapter, and thank you for reading! Also, forgive me if I used the wrong tenses, I've been sick, and may have missed a few incorrect ones.**

**P.S: Alice, your review made me laugh, :p**

**Warnings: AU, OOC, Angst**

* * *

Chapter 4

Lucius Malfoy was standing outside of St. Gabriel's Orphanage, his cane was held loosely in his right hand. He did not want to be there, but he would do anything that Tom asked him to do. He would always be loyal to Tom, after everything the man did for him and his family. The Matron was waiting for him in the entrance hall, and Lucius was able to contain his sneer at the orphanage, which looked like a dump.

Suddenly, Lucius was swarmed by nine children, some of them were tugging on his robes insistently, whith the Matron standing off to the side with a gleam in her eye. She was most likely hoping that Lucius would adopt one of the children. She probably thought that if Lucius adopted one of them, Lucius would send her money as a "thank you for taking care of this child before I adopted it" gift. Lucius would never give money to this harpy.

Lucius was used to getting mobbed, especially by the press, but children were a different story. He counted nine of the little menaces surrounding him.

"Sorry, children, but not today," Lucius said.

Several of the children said, "Awww," and then they went back to their playing, as it was playtime in the orphanage right now.

The Matron flashed a look of disappointment but quickly hid it by one of her awful smiles. Lucius was able to keep himself from cringing, and vowed to get Tom back by sending him to this disgusting muggle place.

"I'm sorry about the children," the Matron said, "but they get excited whenever someone new comes into the orphanage. They believe they will get adopted. If you will please follow me up to my office, we can get down to business."

Lucius followed the Matron to the second floor office, and sneered at the sight while the Matron's back was turned. This was the best furnished looking place in the entire orphanage. Tom's assumptions seemed to be correct about the Matron hoping to gain money from them for selfish reasons.

Lucius sat in the chair in front of the desk where the paperwork was laid out. He read that there were supposedly ten children that lived here, but he only counted nine that swarmed him. Something felt wrong, but Lucius wasn't sure what it was. He hoped that it was nothing, but the feeling that something was wrong kept nagging at him.

"It says that there are ten children here, but I only saw nine. Where is the other child?" Lucius asked the Matron, dreading the answer.

The Matron looked worried for just a split second, but quickly masked her expression. "He was adopted a few days ago by a loving family. I haven't had the time to change the documentation."

Lucius inwardly scoffed at her explanation that was an obvious lie, but there wasn't anything that he could do about it at this point.

Just then, an ear-piercing scream echoed throughout the entire orphanage. Lucius paused, quickly stood up and followed the scream. hoping to find its source.

He came upon a bedroom door, and tried to turn the doorknob, which turned out to be locked. The Matron tried to stop Lucius from trying to unlock the door, but he was getting fed up with the Matron. Lucius quickly pulled out his wand from his cane, and stunned her. The Matron fell with a loud thump, though Lucius paid her no mind. None of the other children came running, so either the children hadn't heard, which was doubtful, or they were used to it and hadn't cared about the scream.

Lucius cast Alohomora on the doorknob, and swung the door open. What he saw caused him to pause in his step, and his eyes widened in shock. There on the bed was a dirty child, maybe around eight years old, possibly younger. It was hard to tell, as the child was in bad shape.

However, that wasn't the only thing that caught Lucius' attention. He also saw that the curtains suddenly caught on fire. This child had magic! He was angry at the Matron in trying to hide this child here, where he was obviously treated with abuse. Tom was going to reign hell on this place, and that thought caused Lucius to shiver slightly in fear. Getting on Tom's bad side was never a good thing, and sometimes it ended in a painful death.

Unable to do anything for the boy himself, Lucius summoned his tiger Patronus to give a message to Tom, and to have him and Severus come to St. Gabriel's Orphanage as soon as they can, as a magical child was obviously in pain, and may be dying. Lucius only hoped that they got here in time.

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After Lucius had left, Tom sat back in his desk chair with his head in his hands. He groaned in frustration, as he still wasn't able to get into contact with the child from his dreams. He felt some sort of connection to that child, and felt that this connection was something that was important. There was a knock on his office door, and then a tall lanky man entered.

"Hey, Severus, what are you up to?" Tom asked, knowing that Severus was experimenting with some sort of potion. He just hoped that Severus wouldn't blow up his house.

"Another failure, Tom. I need to find a more stabilized base, or else it will keep failing," Severus said, and then he sighed.

Severus had been working on this potion for several days, hoping that his success would help werewolves change at will, and not be forced to change during the full moon. The potion was far from a success, but Severus had been even more persistent with getting his potion correct. Even if Tom's house was in danger of being blown to smithereens.

"I'm sure you will figure it out. You are my Potions Master, after all," Tom said.

"That makes me feel so much better," Severus said, as he rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Now, now, Severus, don't be so snooty. How about a drink?"

"Only you would drink during the afternoon, Tom," replied Severus, with a smirk on his lips.

"Yeah, and I wonder whose fault it is," Tom asked rhetorically.

"It isn't because of all of those dunderheads at Hogwarts?" Severus answered with his own question.

"Hmm, that may be part of it, but I believe it's because Dumbledore has been trying to gain information on me. Although, it seems he hasn't been successful," Tom said, with a knowing look at Severus. Severus was Tom's spy, and he was doing a great job hindering Dumbledore without him knowing. Tom had a feeling that things were going to get even more hectic soon.

"Well, it's a good thing he hasn't found-" Severus started to say, but he was cut off as a familiar Patronus came into the room.

"Tom, I'm hoping that Severus is there as well. Something unexpected has come up, and I need both of you to come to St. Gabriel's Orphanage. Oh, and Severus, bring your potions kit with you!" the Patronus quickly dissolved after it gave its message.

Severus quickly grabbed his potions kit, and grabbed onto Tom's arm for apparition, as he had no idea where this orphanage was, so Tom had to apparate them.

They quickly ran to where they felt Lucius' magical signature was, and locked the door behind them, as they passed curious children and a stunned Matron.

What Tom saw on the bed made him stop in his tracks. That child! This was the child that he had been looking for.

Tom quickly strode to the boy's bedside, and said, "Harry."

Harry opened his eyes slightly, and looked at Tom. He smiled a small smile, and quickly lost consciousness.

Both Severus and Lucius looked at each other, wondering the same thing: just who was this child, and how did Tom know him?


	6. Chapter 5

**He guys, sorry it's been a while. I've been having writer's block. It sucks, and I apologize for the wait, and I'm sorry that it's a bit short. It's a bit of a filler chapter, and hopefully things will get more interesting after this, but I'm not guaranteeing anything. Hope you all enjoy this short chapter anyway, and let me know what you think! **

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Chapter 5

Tom was kneeling beside the bed, gently stroking Harry's hair. He was inwardly seething. How dare they do this to a child! He knew that both Severus and Lucius were shocked by his display of affection. He wasn't a caring man most of the time, unless you were one of the rare few that managed to get passed his cold exterior, and see him for who he truly was.

He rarely allowed himself to get close to others. His childhood taught him that most people didn't care about anyone but themselves. When he got hurt, no one bothered to care, no one asked him if he needed any help. The orphanage was Hell. He wasn't sure how else to describe it. He had his magic to protect him, but sometimes that wasn't enough.

Harry was similar to him in so many ways. He felt connected to this child, and caring for him felt so natural that he didn't bother to question it. Protecting Harry was something that he wanted to do, so that he would never have to experience this type of abuse ever again. Tom knew that he couldn't protect him from everything, but he knew that he would do everything in his power to give him a good childhood. A childhood that he never had the chance to have.

Severus got over his shock at Tom showing affection to this child, and grabbed a fever reducer. He fed Harry the potion, gently massaging his throat so he would swallow them. Harry whimpered, but he didn't wake up. The poor child must be pain, but hopefully the potion would kick in soon so his fever would go down.

This child, Harry, looked so young. How could anyone do this to a child? The Matron was going to have an angry Tom after her. Hell, even he and Lucius were going to make her pay. Anyone that abused children were monsters in his eyes, as he knew what it was like to be abused as a child.

Lucius stared at Tom, not quite sure if he believed what he was seeing. Tom rarely tolerated others, especially children. Lucius thought it was because Tom was unsure how to act around children, and he knew that whenever a child was afraid of him it hurt Tom on a deep level, but he hid it well. He did work at Hogwart's afterall, but he knew that Tom cared. He could tell that Tom cared deeply about Draco, and Draco was one of the few rare children that wasn't afraid to get close to Tom. Draco even asked Tom to read him bedtime stories, and to play children's games with him. Lucius would sometimes feel a bit jealous when Draco had Tom play with him or read to him, but he knew that Tom was secretly happy whenever Draco asked him to do those things, so his jealousy slowly disappeared.

"We should take him back to the manor, and call a medic. I can only give him a fever reducer as I'm not entirely sure what is wrong with him," said Severus.

"I agree, but what will we do about that horrid woman?" Lucius asked, gesturing to the door, where Matron was still stunned.

"We'll take her with us to make sure she never harms another child," Tom said coldly.

Lucius looked to Severus who was glaring daggers at the door. Sighing, Lucius went to go retrieve the Matron.

"What about the other children here?" Severus asked.

Tom knew that he shouldn't hold a grudge against children. It was difficult, because these children reminded him of the children that bullied him while he was at the orphanage. Tom let out a quiet sigh and said, "Take them to one of our orphanage's, the living conditions are better there, and the staff that are in charge of those orphanage's actually care about the children first and foremost."

Severus couldn't prevent a scowl that formed on his face. He disliked dealing with children, and he saw Tom was looking at him with some amusement. Glaring at him, Severus spun around and left the room with his robes billowing behind him. Tom hoped that Severus wouldn't traumatize those children, he traumatized enough of them at Hogwarts.

Still stroking Harry's hair through his fingers, Tom looked at Harry's sweating face. Harry looked so fragile, but he knew that Harry had fire. He saw that aspect of this child's personality in his dream. What he didn't understand was why he saw him in a dream to begin with. Just how was he connected to this child?

Tom was asking himself that question when he brushed Harry's bangs away from his forehead and saw a scar that looked like a lightning bolt. Tom's breathing stopped and his eyes widened in surprise.

It just couldn't be...

Could it?

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***Evil laughter* Ummm, sorry? Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see you all next time!**


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